After revelations early last week that thousands of Americans are dying because of errors by health care practitioners and facilities, politicians are calling for more accountability in the health care industry. How many times, even in Rhode Island, have we heard about faulty laboratory testing, or other inconsistencies that have brought into question the quality of care.
While we debate insurance rates and hospital mergers, and we question levels of charitable care, the one issue that should remain undebatable is maintaining a system that provides the highest quality of care for every resident.
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We could not agree more with those who ask for greater accountability, but there is a need to go even further. Accountability means that we can learn from our mistakes, and that’s not enough. We must also strengthen our monitoring efforts to ensure to the best of our ability that the errors never occur in the first place.
And when we are confronted with major industry changes, as we are in Rhode Island now with the impending merger of Lifespan and Care New England, we must make paramount in our review process an assessment of whether any such merger would diminish the quality of care for even one patient.
People are most vulnerable and should be most trusting when they surrender their physical health to a particular physician or facility. It is at that point that we need to have the greatest trust, faith in a system to provide us with the most professional and best care possible.
A red flag
Elmwood Avenue didn’t have a chance.
Last month, UNICOM – among the state’s fastest growing high technology services companies – announced it was moving from South Providence to the spacious Highland Corporate Park off Route 146 in Woonsocket.
The company – founded in 1934 as United Camera – has more than 200 employees. It will construct a 25,000 square-foot office building, which is expected to open in a year.
Luring UNICOM is a major coup for Woonsocket. And given its own battles with high unemployment, Rhode Island’s northern-most city deserves credit for improving its fiscal well being.
But once again we are concerned about the neighborhoods of the capital city that find themselves just outside of the reach of the renaissance downtown.
In South Providence, organizations like the South Providence Development Corporation, the Southside Broad Street Merchants Association and others have made terrific strides in bringing the small business community together. Vacant storefronts have been filled, houses have been refurbished – an entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Grassroots efforts are paying off.
But the powers that be at the State House – and in City Hall – need to re-address the needs of the inner city. If we are discussing tax breaks that communities in suburban areas are able to provide – we better make sure those same incentives are at the fingertips of those in the inner city.
If we are promoting education programs for inner city residents, are we also making sure there are jobs available for graduates of such programs?
And while we know that efforts have been made to either refurbish or upgrade some state and city owned facilities, are there properties owned by city and state government that could be put to better use? Are there streets that need repaving? Are there sidewalks that need repair? Are there community centers that need programs and staffing? We suspect that there are.
UNICOM’s move to Woonsocket is a wonderful opportunity for a growing company and a city that is working hard to grow itself.
And it is a red flag for the inner city.
